KARACHI: At least 361 people have been killed, while valuables and cash worth billions of rupees were robbed/ stolen this year in Karachi, revealed a Citizens Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) report on the crimes committed in the last 11 months.
The report said 28,000 people were stripped of their mobile phones. A total worth of these handsets makes up to Rs280.8 million.
24,154 citizens lost their motor bikes, worth around Rs966.1 mn. While, 1,331 subjects were deprived of their vehicles, worth about Rs931.7 mn in the megapolis.
11 incidents of kidnapping for ransom and 61 of extortions were reported to police.
The also disclosed that eight banks in the metropolis were subjected to robbery in the last 11 months.
KARACHI: Karachi police on Wednesday arrested a woman allegedly involved in a string of robberies across the city, ARY News reported.
The woman named Chanda alias Aman was involved in over two dozens incidents of looting citizens withdrawing money from ATMs. However, two of her male accomplices, Zeeshan and Waseem, managed to escape and evade arrest.
A pistol was also recovered from the suspect pursue. CCTV footage have also been obtained of the robberies shows her looting citizens withdrawing money from ATMs.
Police said the the suspect use to bring two criminals from Baldia, and targeted ATM in several areas including DHA, Nursery and Tariq Road. The suspect accomplices are previously involved in several other criminal incidents.
It is further known that the woman used to go to Baldia Town from Shah Faisal colony to her accomplices, and they later went on a motorcyle for their criminal activities. She was not considered suspicious during police investigations and often went unnoticed during checking. After the incident, she would drop her accomplices and return home.
KARACHI: Despite law enforcement agencies having stepped up action against street criminals, the incidents of theft and snatching of mobile phones and motorcycles rose in the city this year.
The latest figures of street crime compiled by the Citizens Police Liasion Committee (CPLC) shows the incidents of theft and snatching of mobile and motorbike did not show any downward trend, questioning the effectiveness of security forces’ operations and crackdowns to rein in street crime.
The data shows 21700 motorcycles and 15599 mobile phones were stolen in the metropolis this year, whereas 1853 motorbikes and 11620 mobile phones were snatched.
58 citizens registered complaints of extortion while 347 incidents of killing occurred in the city. Eight bank robberies also took place this year. Around 1294 citizens were deprived of their cars.
Last month, a meeting of the apex committee chaired by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had taken notice of street crimes in Karachi, and decided to launch a crackdown and targeted operation against street criminals.
CM Sindh expressed displeasure that though other heinous crime have been controlled, but street crime poses a big challenge and there must be concrete strategy to control it.
It was pointed out that the illegal migrants, who number around 2.5 million in the province and mostly live in Karachi, are involved in street crimes. Therefore, it was proposed to make street crime a part of the apex committee’s domain.
The chief minister approved the proposal and directed police and Rangers to start crack down and targeted operation against street criminals.
He also constituted a committee under Law Minister with AG Sindh and Home Secretary to call on Chief Justice Sindh High Court to dedicate certain courts for speedy trial of street criminals.
KARACHI: A judicial magistrate on Tuesday directed police to present suspects behind the murder of a young couple on the orders of a jirga before a monitoring judge of anti-terrorism court after relevant clauses of the anti-terrorism law were incorporated in the FIR.
The police presented nine suspects before a magisterial court in Karachi to seek their physical remand for questioning. The court directed the police to produce the accused before a monitoring judge of anti-terrorism courts for their trial under terrorism charges.
The young couple, 25-year-old Abdul Hadi and 22-year-old Haseena, who contracted a freewill marriage, was murdered on the night of Nov 22 in the city’s Mominabad area by the woman’s family members on the orders of a tribal jirga in the name of “honour killing.”
A day earlier, the police exhumed the bodies of the couple for autopsy, which confirmed that they were strangled to death and subsequently buried in a graveyard in Ittehad Town.
The police on Tuesday incorporated the relevant clauses of the Anti-terrorism Act 1997 in the FIR registered at the Mominabad police station.
According to the FIR, Miskeen, the victim woman’s father, along with her brothers – Habib, Ayub, Azam and Mirza, murdered the young couple on Nov 22 for going against their wishes and contracting a freewill marriage, on the orders of a tribal jirga and secretly buried the dead in Qaimkhani graveyard in Ittehad Town.
Of fifteen men nominated in the case, nine have been arrested, whereas the key suspect, the woman’s father, is still at large and said to have gone into hiding.
The held suspects included Abdullah, the father of male victim, Noor Mohammed, Mohammed Umer, Abdul Sattar, Mohammed Azeem, Ziaul Haq, Ghulam Rasool, Abdul Rasheed and Eidan.
KARACHI: Police have arrested nine men for allegedly killing a couple in the name of honor on the orders of jirga or elders’ council in the city’s Mominabad area, ARY News reported on Monday.
SP Orangi Abid Baloch said the couple hailing from Kohistan was killed for honor some twelve days back by girl’s family members who were carrying out the orders of the elders’ council.
He said nine people have been arrested in connection with the killing of the couple, who have confessed to the crime.
The victim couple had got married out of their own freewill, which offended their family members who wanted to kill them for bringing disgrace on them, the SP Orangi said.
Abid Baloch said the male victim, Abdul Hadi, was already married to daughter of his paternal uncle and had three children from this marriage.
“His second marriage brew conflict between both the families,” he said.
He said the members of the murdered girl’s family and her fiance’s family were involved in their murder.
The local police grew suspicious when the couple residing within the limits of Mominabad police station went missing and blood stains were seen in their house.
Police have exhumed bodies of the couple Ittihad Town graveyard and shifted them to a local hospital for medico-legal formalities.
Police sources said relatives of the murdered man and woman held a Jirga, a decision making assembly of male elders, to announce their death.
Talking to ARY News, father of Abdul Hadi, who is suspected of involvement in the murder, said he could not afford enmity by going against decision of the Jirga.
Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has taken notice of the incident and sought a report from the provincial police chief on the matter. He directed IG Sindh AD Khowaja to ensure that the culprits are brought to book.
While, Sindh Home Minister Suhail Anwar Siyal and the IG Sindh also took notice of the incident and sought report on the tragic incident.
Police are carrying out raids to nab primary suspect of the incident.
Earlier in September this year, a teenage couple who tried to elope were murdered with electric shocks in an “honour killing” by family members who were carrying out the orders of an influential tribal council.
The teenagers in the port city of Karachi were said by the Pashtun council of elders, or jirga, to have brought dishonor on the community.
“The innocent souls were tied to a charpai (rope bed) and given electric shocks,” said a police officer who arrested the two fathers and two uncles and is pursuing some 30 members of the jirga who have gone into hiding.
The 15-year-old girl had allegedly run away with her 17-year-old boyfriend last month, he said.
More than 500 people -almost all women — die in Pakistan each year in such killings, usually carried out by members of the victim’s family meting out punishment for bringing “shame” on the community.
DIG Security Karachi Maqsood Memon, speaking with ARY News, has said that all private and government ambulance services and fire brigade will work in coordination whereas ambulances, police and other rescue teams will be immediately dispatched whenever an incident needing emergency help will happen.
He also said that Special Security Unit (SSU) commandos will be deployed across Karachi for curbing street crimes and emergency situations. DIG Security Karachi added that SSU commandos will reach ahead of the police at the crime scene.
“911 services will be operated from Central Police Office and Civic Centre whereas consultations are being held to set up a centralized office,” he said.
Memon stated that equipment along with 12 megapixel-5000 cameras, with face-detection software, will be installed across the city.
“The newly-introduced helpline service is being launched on the pattern of those operational in developed countries like the United States. The aim of the service is to provide better help and services to the citizens,” Memon said.
The senior police officer said that the citizens will get relief from the newly-introduced 911 service and the new police helpline will help to bring the crime rate down.
